Question 5: Long-term Objective C

$36,433,257.00
Fiscal Year: 2010

5LC. Evaluate new and existing pre-service and in-service training to increase skill levels in service providers, including direct support workers, parents and legal guardians, education staff, and public service workers to benefit the spectrum of people with ASD and promote interdisciplinary practice by 2015. IACC Recommended Budget: $8,000,000 over 5 years.

Objective Cumulative Funding Table

IACC Strategic Plan Objective

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

Total

Evaluate new and existing pre-service and in-service training to increase skill levels in service providers, including direct support workers, parents and legal guardians, education staff, and public service workers, to benefit the spectrum of people with ASD and to promote interdisciplinary practice by 2015.

5.L.C. Funding: The recommended budget was met. Significantly more than the recommended minimum budget was allocated to projects specific to this objective.

Progress: Many projects have been funded in this area. However, there is an ongoing need for support of efforts in this area.

Remaining gaps, needs and opportunities: Significant workforce needs remain, especially with regard to paraprofessionals. With all studies in this objective, there remains an issue of scale. Most training programs are designed for small groups. In order for training to be effective at the community level, it has to be able to scale up for broad dissemination, so training programs need to be evaluated for their potential to be scaled up. Comparative effectiveness studies of training models are needed to illuminate whether or not providers need more training, which populations require which training methods, and which training methods are most effective.